“If we don’t maintain and move forward with a credible threat of military pressure, I do not think we will actually get the kind of agreement I would like to see.” — President Barack Obama conceding he might lose his fight for congressional support of a military strike against Syria.

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“We declare that we shall ourselves determine the means and mode of fighting this war in our national interest and shall not be guided by the United States of America or any other country in this regard.” — Pakistani political leaders in a statement endorsing government efforts to negotiate with militants in the tribal regions while distancing themselves from a war that they portrayed as being foisted on them by the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.

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“The NAACP is alive, and it’s well. We have a strategic plan in place that will help guide our work for the next 50 years.” — NAACP Chairwoman Roslyn Brock in a statement as leaders of the nation’s largest civil rights group pledged to continue fighting for voting rights, health care, a higher minimum wage and immigration reform.